


Nakama

by Rangergirl3



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 20:23:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17128139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangergirl3/pseuds/Rangergirl3
Summary: Merry Keithmas, you platonic Kidge lovers. :-)





	Nakama

There probably _were_ worse things than being trapped in an underground labyrinth without any schematics or easy way out, but Pidge would much rather focus on getting _out_ of this maze before trying to come up with other reasons not to panic.

After what seemed an eternity, her comms crackled into life.

"Pidge? Where are you? What's going on?"

She gave a short sigh of relief. True, she may be deep underground and surrounded by darkness, but least she still had her comms.

"I’m...well...you know that really ancient part of the city we were told to avoid?"

Keith's response was cautiously wary.

"... _yeah_...?"

“I kind of...swung by the general area, you know, just to check it out, and I ended up falling through the floor and into some kind of underground passage. Jetpack’s busted, too. Not sure how long it might take me to climb out of-“

Pidge proceeded to walk straight into a wall. If she hadn’t had her helmet on, she definitely would have smashed her nose against the cold stone.

 _Whoever the author of her life was, Pidge was certain that they deserved a swift kick in the ass_.

"Ow. Stupid tunnels. Stupid _darkness_."

There was a muffled curse on the other end of the line.

"Katie, _please_ tell me you didn’t actually go into the ancient city. The labyrinths under there are a maze."

Pidge growled. "Give me some credit. I was at least a hundred feet away from the boundary lines when the floor just....uh....when I fell through the floor."

"The _floor_ gave **_way_**?!" Keith's response was both worried and exasperated. "How the **_hell_** could it just that - you weigh practically _nothing_ -"

Pidge gave a prim cough, but she was grinning mischievously as she asked her next question. "Are you seriously talking about my weight right now?"

Keith’s reply was terse. He clearly wasn’t in a joking mood.

_She didn’t take it personally, though. He was always like this when he was worried._

"Pidge, _listen_ , I'm being serious - floors don't just fall away. I think...I think maybe you set off a safeguard - "

The Green Paladin straightened her back, indignant. "I did _not_! I was nowhere close enough to the boundary line to set anything off!"

There was static from the other end of the line. It went on for about fifteen seconds before she could hear Keith's words clearly again.

" - just notified the others. We're going to triangulate your position using the Castle's scanner. Stand by."

Stones rattled behind her, and Pidge jumped in place, turning around in almost the exact same instant.

"Uh, Keith?"

He must have heard the fear in her voice. When he replied, there was no trace of exasperation.

"Pidge, what is it? What's wrong?"

She took a few steps away from the place where she'd been standing. Something told her it was a good idea to tread as quietly as possible.

"...I think something's in here with me."

More stones rattled. She recognized the pattern now.

 _Footsteps_.

She swallowed. "S-something that definitely knows its way around down here."

Keith swore under his breath. "Is it safe to stay where you are right now?"

Pidge took a few more tentative steps away from the approaching footfalls.

"No. I think it knows that I'm close by."

She swallowed again. Her throat felt very dry.

"Uh...so, Keith....you got any good ideas on how I could survive for the next five minutes?"

Keith's response was immediate, reassuring.

"Stealth. Dim the lights on your armor and move as slowly and as quietly as possible away from - from whatever that thing is."

Pidge nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see the movement.

"And if - if it finds me?"

Keith's words were short, his tone fierce.

"It won't have time to find you. Just hold on. I'm on my way now."

* * *

Most people would have flinched at using jet packs to increase their running speed, especially in narrow corridors.

But then, Keith wasn't most people.

When he got to Pidge's last known location, he didn't waste time in trying to scan for a signal through the floor.

When Coran said she was in the tunnel below Keith, the Red Paladin simply dimmed the lights on his armor, cut the power to his jet pack, and dropped straight down the gaping hole in the floor and into the darkness.

He landed silently, then crouched there in the shadows for a few more seconds, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness.

The cave-in had been significant. Hardly any light trickled down from the rooms above.

* * *

Keith’s eyesight adjusted just in time to allow him to see a truly intimidating shadow fall across the wall of the ancient tunnel. It had the the head of a beast, but it stood on two legs, and its' massive shoulders were hunched, as if it were used to crouching in dark places. It seemed to be sniffing the air for the scent of its prey.

Keith thought about calling Allura or Coran on his comms to see if this thing was friend, or foe, or just a subterranean dwelling creature who had been startled by an unexpected cave-in.

Just then, the thing let out a snarl, hunched down, and began turning towards a section of the tunnel that was so thickly swathed in shadow that it looked like a patch of starless winter sky.

Keith knew that if Pidge were hiding there, she would have no chance of avoiding the creature's claws - unless someone distracted it for a few crucial seconds. So without further hesitation, Keith took a few steps forwards, calling out to whatever waited in the darkness.

"Hey! Hey - uh - you!"

The creature halted. One ear twitched, and when it turned to face him, Keith saw that its' great jaws were open and drooling. It reminded him of those pictures in some Egyptian tombs - a jackal. A huge, man-sized jackal who was looking back at him with red eyes and..and it was _smiling_.

Keith had seen a lot of things across the universe, but this?

It _definitely_ ranked a ten out of ten on the creepy scale.

When the thing spoke, that score immediately went up to eleven. 

"Intruderssss."

Something about the word made it sound like the creature was actually pleased.

_Oh, that's not good._

All the same, Keith kept his hands at his sides, palms up, trying to show this thing that he meant it no harm.

_Maybe he could talk to it, get it to listen to him._

"I'm sorry I disturbed you," he said. "My friend got lost. Once I find her, we'll leave."

The creature shook its head. Sharp teeth gleamed in the faint light spilling from the room above.

"No one leavesssss. The ancient lawssss are clear."

From the corner of his eye, Keith saw a tiny shift of movement. Pidge was nearby. She was creeping out of the shadows, using her suit's enhancements to remain invisible.

_He just had to buy her a little more time._

"Neither of us meant to come here. She fell through the floor. Surely there's some way we can work this out without bloodshed."

The creature threw back its head and laughed. The sound rebounded off of the old walls and echoed throughout the dark.

 _Okay, that was_ **_definitely_ ** _a twenty out of ten on the creepy scale._

"Foolissssh _child_ ," the jackal monster hissed. It took a step nearer to him, raising its claws and baring its teeth.

"Bloodshed isss the sole purpose of thissss place. It hassss been for centuriessss. Do not mock our ancient ritessss."

The shimmer of barely visible movement that was Pidge drew within arm's reach of Keith. He didn't let the tension show in his expression, but it took every ounce of self-possession he had not to reach out for her and pull her further away from the creature.

"Times have changed. You can make a different choice."

 _Come on, Katie. You can make it. Just a little further. Then we get out of here together_.

The creature cocked its head again, and its smile was a truly hideous thing.

"I choosssse not to."

With that, it lunged forwards, claws outstretched, jaws gaping.

Keith threw himself to one side, summoning his bayard as he did so. Even as the sword appeared in his right hand, he shouted, reaching out with his other hand.

" **PIDGE**!"

Invisible fingers gripped his out flung wrist, and Keith managed to pull her out of the creature's reach just in time.

Serrated jaws snapped shut on empty air. A moment later, Pidge's cloaking upgrade flickered and glittered, and Keith knew his friend well enough to turn his face away, shielding his eyes from what was to follow.

Light, bright and green and gleaming like sunlight through leaves in a forest, erupted from Pidge's armor, illuminating every corner of the sunken room. The creature let out a howl of rage and pain, staggering away from the light.

In that moment, Keith saw what else was in the cave.

* * *

It was an old place, filled with death and decay, and countless bones littered the floor. Whatever this creature was, it clearly hunted down its prey with an obsessive fervor. When it caught its prey, it left only scraps and bits of bone behind.

Keith's imagination tried to show him an image of what might have happened to his friend, but he shoved it away.

 _They were_ **_both_ ** _going to make it out of here._

 _This_ **_wasn't_ ** _going to be the end._

Pidge had timed the burst of light perfectly. Although some viewed it as a more of a party trick than a weapon, it was a formidable tool in the hands of someone clever enough to use it well, and Keith considered Pidge to be the most clever person he knew.

* * *

As she set off the burst of light, Pidge kept firm hold of Keith’s wrist. Even as the light showed the contents of the cave, she felt her feet leave the floor as Keith ignited his jet pack. 

 _Thank the stars._

She didn’t want to spend another second down here in the murder cave or whatever the heck this place was.

Something skittered closer to her in the growing darkness - something with the head of a beast. Clawed hands reached out for her ankle, and she yelped, activating her bayard in the same instant.

“Keith! Turn up the lights in your armor!”

Her teammate followed her lead, and for a few moments, it seemed like the lights of their bayards and the Altean armor were enough to keep the thing at bay.

* * *

When they finally reached the edge of the pit, Keith wasted no time in hauling Pidge up and over the edge as fast as he could. Since he used more strength than calculation, the Green Paladin ended up doing two ungainly (and somewhat painful) head-over-heels somersaults.

She turned around just in time to see a clawed hand snatch at Keith’s left ankle. He’d almost been out of its’ reach, but the creature was strong, and although the Red Paladin kicked out with his free leg, trying to loosen the creature’s grip, it began to pull him back down into the darkness.

“No one esscapessss me.”

“Do you _ever_ shut up?!” Keith snarled, lashing out with his bayard, but at that very moment, his jet pack ran out of fuel and the Red Paladin was forced to hang onto the ledge of the pit with both hands to keep himself from being dragged away into the darkness.

* * *

Seconds mattered now, and Pidge knew she couldn’t waste time in getting to her feet. It took a few undignified and uncoordinated attempts, but she managed to scramble forwards on her hands and knees just in time to catch hold of her friend’s wrists as the creature pulled on Keith’s ankle once again.

“I got you, Keith,” Pidge said. Keith didn’t answer her, but from the way his fingers tightened their hold on her wrists, she could tell he was not certain of this situation’s outcome.

From the darkness below, she heard the creature give something that might have been a chuckle.

“You were lucky, Green Paladin. Let the red one take your placsssse.”

Pidge’s only reply to _that_ idiotic suggestion was a scorching phrase that she’d learned from her own mother - who, apparently, had been quite the spit-fire in her own days at the Garrison. Despite the desperate circumstances, she thought she heard Keith give a short ‘ha!’ of incredulous laughter.

Just then, something above her snapped out a harsh, sharp sound, and a pulse of blue energy vanished into the darkness.

Almost at the same instant, Keith felt the creature’s grip on his ankle loosen, and he immediately hauled himself up and over the edge of the pit with Pidge’s help.

The Green Paladin glanced up over her shoulder to see Lance coming to stand beside her, his own jetpack just powering down.

“Nice shot, Lance,” she panted. “Took that one from the air, did you?”

Lance nodded, although he kept his rifle trained on the gaping hole in the floor.

“Figured you had enough going on down here on the ground level.”

Keith rolled over onto his back, still recovering his breath. Nevertheless, he gave Lance a disoriented kind of thumbs up signal.

“Good - job - sharpshooter,” He wheezed, and Lance visibly brightened at the compliment.

“Well, you know,” he drawled. “It’s what I do.”

* * *

Back on the Castle - after they’d both gone through the usual post-battle checkup by Coran - Pidge headed into the kitchen and found Keith already sitting in one of the chairs. 

She nodded at him, yawned, and went to the cupboards to see if there were any snacks that might sound appealing.

“Hey - Pidge?”

She glanced at him just in time to see Keith holding out an open package of what could only be the Altean version of popcorn.

_Sweet gods, popcorn sounded amazing just then._

As she sat down and began to munch, she saw that Keith was looking down at his mug, but also glancing at her.

From long experience, she knew that he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk right then. So, she yawned amiably once more, leaned her chair back, and gave him a friendly-but-sleepy half-smile. At least, that’s what she was going for. It might look more like a grimace, but she was on some rather potent painkillers, and would be for the next day or two. Coran was such a worrier when it came to things like bruises. 

_And abrasions...and falls from heights..._ _Hmm. Yeah, okay, she had to admit the Royal Advisor probably had a point. Painkillers were good. Very good._

“Yeah?” She asked.

Keith returned her half-smile.

“Thanks.”

Pidge felt her face heat up, and so instead of answering, she just crossed her eyes in a humorous manner and flicked some popcorn at him.

“Yeah, well...um...you too. For coming to get me.”

Keith shrugged. “Sure.”

Pidge flicked another popcorn kernel at him. He replied by taking another sip from his mug and casually swinging a foot out at one of the legs of her chair. She squinched up her nose in mock irritation and intentionally scooted her chair away from him.

She’d never really thought that she would make actual _friends_ out here in space...but somehow, she had.


End file.
